KickassTorrents’ popular clone KAT.am shut down

After piracy website KickassTorrents was taken down by authorities following the arrest of its alleged owner Artem Vaulin in Poland last month, clone websites of KickassTorrents were back online with vengeance.TOI Tech | August 02, 2016, 12:54 IST

NEW DELHI: After piracy website KickassTorrents was taken down by authorities following the arrest of its alleged owner Artem Vaulin in Poland last month, clone websites of KickassTorrents were back online with vengeance. One such popular clone website called KAT.am claimed itself to be an improved version of the original and cannot be taken down. However, within just two weeks, KAT.am is shut down after a notice was issued by Motion Picture Association (MPA).

"We are not worried, because if it's not us, someone else will keep the game running. If not the alleged owner, it can be us. If we are not there, still there will surely be someone else. This never ends," said the operator of KAT.am in a report by TorrentFreak.

KickassTorrents is accused of distributing over $1 billion worth of illegally copied films, music and other content.

"The MPA coordinated with the Armenian registry and got the domain deleted. We are making continuous attempts to bring it back, utilizing all the legal channels available," he said.

Vaulin is alleged to own KickassTorrents or KAT, which in recent years has eclipsed Pirate Bay and others to become the world's biggest source of pirated media.

KAT, which distributes films, video games, television programs, music and other electronic media, was estimated to be the 69th-most frequently visited website on the internet, according to a Justice Department statement.

According to the complaint filed by authorities, KAT operates in 28 languages and has made available movies that were still in theaters along with other content, earning revenue from advertising on its site.